But some of it may come from other sources.
Intestinal gasresults from the activity of gut bacteria on food.
An aspect of IBS calledvisceral hypersensitivityheightens pain in your digestive tract.
Verywell / Cindy Chung
That means the pressure from gas can become quite painful.
Causes of IBS Pain
The causes of abdominal pain in IBS aren’t well understood.
What’s clear is that your brain and your gut work together in a complex way.
That interaction can cause visceral hypersensitivity even when you don’t have gas.
That’s especially true if you’re under a lot ofstress.
Another key factor in IBS ismotility dysfunctioncolon contractions that are too fast or too slow.
That leads to diarrhea (too fast) and constipation (too slow).
So it may not be clear where your pain is coming from.
Some containfermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols(FODMAPs).
These undigested carbohydrates will pass to your large intestine, where bacteria break them down and create gas.
Visceral hypersensitivity, motility dysfunction, and intestinal muscle spasms also cause pain.
Gas paintends to be food-related.
It involves shifting location, passing wind, and constipation or infrequent bowel movements.
Other IBS pains tend to be stress-related, widespread, radiate upward, and feel crampy.
Seo AY, Kim N, Oh DH.Abdominal bloating: pathophysiology and treatment.JNeurogastroenterol Motil.
2016;22(4):558-574. doi:10.5056/jnm16001
Cleveland Clinic.Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms and causes of gas in the digestive tract.
Harvard Medical School.Flatulence (gas).
2011;7(11):729-39.